Srinagar- A court here on Tuesday awarded life sentence to two convicts in an acid attack on a law student at Nowshera Srinagar in 2014, observing that tangible loss and life-long emotional trauma suffered by the victim by the horrible act “far outweighs any hypothetical chance of rehabilitation” of the duo.
“Someone capable of holding such harmful and hateful mentality and the capability to conspire and willingly go through with it over a matter as trivial as envy and jealousy cannot be trusted to be reintegrated into the society,” Principal Sessions Judge, Srinagar Jawad Ahmed, said while awarding life sentencing to Irshad Amin Wani of Wazirbagh, Srinagar and Mohammed Umer Noor of Bemina, the duo convicted by him on Thursday last for the “horrific” acid attack on the 20-year-old law student on 11 December 2014 while she was heading to college.
“After careful consideration of the submissions made by both the sides and having regard to the nature of the attack, the permanent disfiguration caused to the victim by the use of corrosive substance by the convicts in furtherance of criminal conspiracy and the impact of the disfiguration on the future life of the victim both physical and emotional, I find that the convicts do not deserve leniency and no other punishment except the maximum punishment of life imprisonment prescribed under law for their act can do the real and complete justice to the victim,” the court said, adding, “ The convicts are sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and fine of Rs 5 lakhs each for commission of offence punishable under Section 326-A RPC read with Section 120-B RPC”.
The execution of the sentence shall be subject to the confirmation by the J&K and Ladakh High Court in terms of Section 376 CrPC Svt, 1989, the court said.
The fine, when recovered, shall be paid to the victim in terms of proviso 1 and 2 of Section 326-A RPC, the court said.
“In default of payment of fine, the convicts shall undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years.
The court also sentenced the duo to 10 years of imprisonment and fine of Rs25,000 each for the offence punishable under Section 120-B RPC (criminal conspiracy). In default of payment of fine, the court said, they shall undergo further imprisonment for one year.
The convicts were also sentenced to imprisonment for three years for offence punishable under Section 201 RPC (destroying evidence) with fine of Rs 10,000 each and in default of such fine they shall undergo further imprisonment for six months. “The sentence awarded to the convicts for different offences shall run concurrently.”
The court referred to the great English jurist Lord Denning’s view that punishment is the way in which the society expresses its denunciation of wrongdoing and in order to maintain respect of law, it is essential that punishment inflicted for grave crimes should reflected revulsion felt by the great majority of the citizens.
“For them it is a mistake to consider the object of punishment as being deterrent or reformative or preventive and nothing else. The truth is that some crimes are so outrageous that society insists on adequate punishment because the wrongdoer deserves it, irrespective of whether it is deterrent or not.”
Meanwhile, the court also recommended the case of the victim to the Member Secretary, J&K Legal Service Authority for awarding the maximum compensation to the victim in terms of the J&K Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019.
“In view of the huge amount the victim has incurred on her treatment and the amount which is required for her further treatment, I deem it appropriate to recommend the case of the victim to the Member Secretary, J&K Legal Service Authority to award the maximum compensation to the victim in terms of the J&K Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019, of course subject to the adjustment of the interim compensation already paid to her under the scheme,” the court said.
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